Civil Aviation Authority safety investigator Colin Grounsell, of Wellington, and two other investigators yesterday examined the wreckage of the Cessna 172 Skyhawk which crashed on the Arrowtown Golf Club course on Monday, killing Tauranga pilot Ian Douglas Sloan (59) and injuring two passengers, his son-in-law, Wayne Candy (37), a Perth mine supervisor, and aviation enthusiast Louise Urquhart (61), a friend of Mr Sloan.
"We know the pilot and his two passengers were planning on landing on Monks Rd strip," Mr Grounsell said.
"The indications, at this stage, are he had some difficulty in his landing approach and it looks like he was trying to go around. The indications are he may have lost control in the climb out from the airstrip."
It appeared the tail of the plane struck the top quarter of a tree in a steep descending angle near the seventh tee. Cuts in the ground caused by the wing and nose were visible.
Mr Grounsell said there were signs of a low forward speed impact from a yet-to-be-determined altitude. It was believed the aircraft crashed and slid about 15m down a bank.
The investigators expected to receive information collated by Queenstown police today and to begin interviewing witnesses, including a woman who was on the golf course at the time.
"We hope to gain more information from the passengers in the near future," Mr Grounsell said.
Human errors, handling errors, the pilot's experience and background and the weather conditions will be assessed as part of the investigation. The engine will be stripped and examined to make sure it was not a factor and any areas of interest will be tested.
A preliminary report on the incident is expected within four weeks. The final report will go through the coronial process and could take about 18 months to be publicly released.
An insurance assessor joined the Civil Aviation officials on site yesterday. The aircraft was moved from the course yesterday to secure storage.
Mr Candy, a front-seat passenger, was in a general ward at Dunedin Hospital for assessment and Ms Urquhart was "progressing favourably" in a high dependency unit, a hospital spokeswoman said yesterday.
